Cody Gibbs passed away in early July after 11-months of treatment for a cancer which had manifested as three tumours on his brain and spine.
The 15-year-old Airlie Beach boy had originally been diagnosed with Pineoblastoma in 2018 – an aggressive, rare form of the disease in the pineal gland in the brain’s centre.
He was 11 at the time and spent nine months fighting the malignancy in hospital – four operations, chemotherapy, and radiation - which ended in clear scans for a period of two years.
In 2021, the cancer returned, and with the support of the community and his family, a second outing of “Cody’s Battle” began, but would sadly end in a Brisbane palliative care ward.
His mother Donna Davis said cancer is not the thing that defines who her son was, although it may have claimed his life in the end.
He was an avid Aussie Rules footballer, a larrikin with a self-deprecating sense of humour, and as a little boy he was “high adrenaline, high octane; he was on and he’d go and go and go, then he’d fall asleep just where he was.”
“I think his generosity and kindness defined him. He always thought of others before himself,” Donna said.
“I think I was pretty hard on him when he was little and it paid off. He was kind and had respect for others, but he was cheeky and loveable. He had that smile that you’d say: ‘You’re just trouble, mate!’
“You just want to hug him, and I think he affected everyone he met. He was funny, he loved to dance, and he loved making people laugh at his own expense.
“Those that knew him relayed it to others who didn’t. People knew he was a really good kid and that he didn’t deserve to have this disease.
“He never, ever once complained about anything or got upset with having cancer. We always thought he’d break at some point but he never complained about anything.
“I think that’s why everyone loved him and supported him so much. He never let it get to him.”
Over the course of the two cancer diagnoses and subsequent treatments, separate fundraisers and GoFundMe pages raised tens of thousands of dollars for Cody’s Battle.
Some of those events included an Airlie Beach Rodeo, raffles and auctions at businesses across the region: The Metropole Proserpine, Kazza’s Barber Shop, Domino’s Airlie Beach, Jubilee Pocket Tavern, Hay Point Hotel, and Ray White Whitsundays.
Parts of those funds raised helped with treatment, while others sent Cody skydiving in Airlie Beach – a dream he’d always had - on a Jetski trip, and Jet Boating.
And some of them eased Cody’s journey close to its end, putting him in a comfy hotel room away from the hospital beds where he could lay in a bath and float, “finding the weightlessness he craved” when the pain was too bad.
His faithful local AFL team, the Whitsunday Sea Eagles were chief amongst those fundraisers. Cody had found Aussie Rules not too long before the second diagnosis but had made an indelible impression on the club.
They hosted an enormous Kickathon Fundraiser for him in 2021 on top of already donating to his Battle, which included an auction with signed guernseys from clubs across the country, giving club members an outlet for their desire to help.
But no actions were more touching than, in solidarity, when upwards of 15 of Cody’s mates in grade 9 at Proserpine State High School whipped off their hats to reveal they had shaved their heads in 2021.
“It was beautiful. The boys, that group of his close mates that he met through the Sea Eagles, they were wonderful,” Donna said.
“They were always telling each other they loved one another, and that’s hard for boys of that age to do.”
Donna said he made the most of every day and that he left an indelible mark on everyone he interacted with, which is why she believes there are so many whose lives he touched.
“His attitude was that he never sweated the small stuff and made the most of everything.”
“I know there are so many people out there who did something for him - things that we don’t even know about – but we’ll learn about them in the coming weeks.
“There are too many people who have become family and helped Cody in his journey. I can’t thank this community enough for what they’ve done for us.”
If you would like to attend The Cody Effect, a celebration of Cody’s life at Whitsunday Sailing Club on July 24, please RSVP at the link: https://forms.office.com/r/Yx2QCWQawD
Cody Gibbs passed away in early June after almost a year of treatment for Pineoblastoma
